Restaurant service device



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RESTAURANT SERVICE DEVICE. 'APPLICATON'FILED FEBYIZ. |920. RENEWED bCT.4. 192|- l 1 ,397,809. Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

4 SHEETS- SHEET l.

A www Hq 1. HuTcHlNsoN.

RESTAURANT SERVICE DEVICE. APPLICATIUN FILED FEB. I2, 1920. REREWED OCT.4. 192|.

'MTRR PatentedNov. 22, 1921;'

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@3U/w. ffl/afval] J. HUTCHINSGN.

`RESTAURANT 4SERVICE DEVICE. APPLICATION msn rsa. I2. 1920. nzNEwED-oc.4. 192|.

1,397.809. Patented Nv. 22,1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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'1. HUTCHINSON.

RESTAURANT SERVICE. DEVHTE. APPucmon m20 FEB. 12. |920. nznswrn ocT. 4,|921.

Patend No'v. 22, 1921.

Q shifts-SHEET JOSEPH HUTCHINSON, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

RESTAURANT SERVICE DEVICE.

. Specication of Lett-ers Patent.

Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

Application led February 12, 1920, Serial No. 358,048. Renewed ctober 4,1921. Serial No. 506,031.

To all l"whom it may coacem.'

Be it known that I, JOSEPH HUTCHINSON, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residingl at Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Restaurant ServiceDevices; and Ido hereby declare that the following is. a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The present invention has reference to a mechamcal service adapted foruse more particularly in connection with restaurants, which will performthe function of human attendants at the table of the restaurant,v as setforth in my former Patent No. 1,215,536, dated February 13th, 1917.Herebefore, there have been many waysof utilizing conveyers for bringingdish trays from and to the kitchen land the trays when carried from thekitchen being automatically deposited at predetermined tables in thedining room, but such mechanical devices have met with great disfavor,due to the fact that the trays are deposited upon the tables or are onlyleft upon the tables for a limited time, which requires that thecustomer remove the dishes from the trays. The principal object of thepresent invention is to provide a mechanical restaurant service whichwill carrythe dishes -upon a tray from a kitchen, pantry or the like, desit the dishes upon the table, and return t e trays to the kitchen.

A ,further object of the present invention is to provide a device ofthis character which will carry the trays from the kitchen,automatically depositing the dishes upon the din ing room tables, andthe depositing of the dishes upon the dining room tables may bepredetermined, so that the dishes called for may be deposited upon therespective tables within thedining room.

With the above and other objects in view which will hereinafter appearas the description continues, theinvention consists of the no elfeatures of construction, combination and formation of parts as will behereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

In theaceompanying -drawings has been shown a simple and preferred formof the invention, it being, however', understood that no limitation isnecessarily made to the precise structural details herein exhibited,but. theright is hereby reserved to any changes, alterations ormodifications to which redourse may be had that come within the scope ofthe claims without departing from the spirit of the invention orsacrificing the efliciency of the same.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of the mechanism embodying thepresent invention g. 5 is a slmilar View looking atthe rear of one ofthe conveying trays and illustrating a portion of the table within thedinin room;

ig. .6 is an enlarged sectional view through a cam supporting member;

Fig.l 7 is a detail perspective view of the tray when in its normalposition;

Fig. 8 is a detail elevation of the same when the tray is about toreturn to its normal position;

Fig. 9 is adetail plan view of one of the dish trays showing itsposition when travelin from the kitchen to the dining room;

ig. 10 is a similarview showing the first` movement of the tray whenabout to deliver `the dishes to the table within the dining room.

Fig. 11 is a similar view showing the position of the tray when it hasdeposited the dishes upon the table within the dining room;,and,

Fig. 12 is a. similar view showing the tray when returning to its'normal position. l

Referrin now more particularly to the accompanying drawings wherein likeand corresponding parts are designated by similar reference charactersthroughout the several views. i

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated a portion of a'suitable housing for inclosing a mechanical restaurant service whichconsists of the side walls 1 and 2 respectively and a bottom 3. Thiscasing may represent a dividing wall within a room, or it may beportable las desired, but extends fromfthe kitchen in a restaurant tothe dining tables. In Fig. 1, I have illusytrated the walls 1 and 2 eachhaving the.

alining openings 4 therein, which openings are adapted to be normallyclosedv by means of the vertical slidable doors 5.v Ranged adjacent eachof these openings, 4 and exteriorly ofthis casing are the tables 6, andthese tables are positioned within the dining room so that the customermay receive the ordered dishes containing food thereupon. These tablesmay be ordinary dining room tables fully set for a customer, and afterthe customer has given his order for .the desired dishes, the latterwill be automatically conveyed to him. and deposited upon the table,thereby eliminating humlan attendants 'at the tables within arestaurant. In this Fig. 1, I have illustrated the tables as beingpositioned at both sides of the casing, so that the trays may bealternately swung to deposit the dishes upon the table, but. of course,it will be understood that this mecha- 'nism may be effectively used indepositing the dishes at only one side of the casing, or the casingmaybe eliminated entirely and the conveyer extended to each side of thetables.

Arranged within this housing or casing is a' plurality of supports 7carrying the tracks 8 and disposed to ride upon these tracks 8 are thecarriages 9. These carriages 9 are suitably connected tothe links of anendless conveying chain or belt which extends from the kitchen of therestaurant throughout the entire length of the housing'. This conveyerchain or belt moves` continuously in one direction, so that thecarriages connected to the upper portion 10 of the belt will deliver thetrays, and the dishes carried thereby may be deposited within the lunchroom; then the lowest section 11 of the conveyer returns the trays tothe kitchen.

Secured to each carriage 9 is a platform 12 and mounted upon thisplatform 12 is a vertical shaft 13 having suitably connected to itsupper' end a segment 14. Rotatably andI slidably mounted upon this shaft13 isl a bar 15 which carries one of thetrays, and each tray consists ofa plurality of horizontally extending bars or fingers 16 which areequally spaced apart, and upon these bars or rods 16 are deposited thedishes which are conveyed from the kitchen and finally deposited uponthe tables 6. This bar 15 has an oppositely projecting arm 17 andconnecting this arm 17 with the platform 12 is a coil spring 18 whichhas a tendency to exert a pull upon this bar v15 in two directions, thatis, it normally tends to hold the Vbar 15 and the tray carried therebyin the position as better shown in Figs. 1, 7 and 9, but at the sametime permits the bar 15 to oscillate about the shaft 13 for a purposewhich will be later described. This coil spring 18 being connected tothe platform 12 has also a downward pull upon the bar 15, the purpose ofwhich will also be later set upon the segment 14 for. holding the trayand bar 15 in an elevated position, but when the bar 15 has been movedso that the bracket 19 will passrover the free end 20 of the segment 14,the tray and bar will be pulled downwardly and return to its normalposition, but this L-shaped bracket 19 will pass beneath thel segment 14to a position where it may again be placed upon the segment.

When a tray leaves the kitchen, it is elevated and retained in thiselevated position by permitting the bracket 19 to rest upon the segment14, and as the conveyer is continuously in motion, it will,ofcoursecarry the tray through the housing or casing. This 'tray 16 isadapted to swing in a horizontal plane, so that it may enter one of theopenings 4, and after it has entered Aone of these openings, the prongsor rods of lI provide the plates 22'eachof which being provided with acam face 23 upon which is adapted to ride the ,arm 17 of the bar 15. Theconveyer moves in the direction of the arrow, as shown vin Fig. 9, andas the arm 17 comes in contact with the cain 23, it will ride thereupon,causing the tray to first swing to the position as illustrated in Fig.10 and finally to the position as shown in Fig. 11, where the rods ofthe trayv will extend above the rods 21 of the table. When the bar 15 isin the position as shown in Fig. 11, 'the bracket 19 will ride over theend 20 of the segment 14, and the spring 18, assisted by the weight ofthe tray and the dishes thereupon, will drop so that the bars of thetray 16 will immediately pass through the bars, 21 of the receivingplatformv leaving the dish A upon the bars 21, and the spring 18 willimmediately cause the bar 15 to return to its normal position which istransversely of the platform 12 and substantially positioned as shown inFig. 9.V The return movement of the tray is better illustrated in Fig.12, and the bracket 19 will, of course, swing below the segment 14 onits return movement, but as the tray approaches the kitchen, suitablemeans, (not shown) which may be either mechanical or manual, may be usedfor again raising the bar 15 and placing the bracket 19 upon the segmentso that it will assume the position as better illustrated in Fig. 7. Theslidabledoors 5 normally close the openings 4 and are retained in thisclosed position by means of the pivotally latch 24 has been released oroperated, as-

shown in Fig. 3, the door will be released and permitted to fall bygravity. As this doort normally closes the opening 4, the tray, ofcourse, cannot enter this opening until the door has been released, andtherefore l provide means automatically for releasing this latch member24, so that the door may be opened when it is desired to pass a traykthrough the opening. Connected to this door 5 is a cable 26 whichextends over suitable pulleys as shown, and connected to this vcable 26is a block 427 which is mounted upon a 4suitable track 28. When thisblock 27 is moved to the position as better shown in Fig. 2, the door 5will be closed, but when the door isplatform, andthe door closing theopenlng will be automatically released so that the tray at the desiredtime may enter the opening leading to this predetermined receivingplatform. Also, after the tray has delivered the dishes, it will notonly return to its normal position and be carried back to the kitchen,but the door way through which it has passed will again be closed byelevating the door therefor. The automatic control ofthe trays may beoperated from the kitchen.

Slidably mounted upon the platforms 12 are a plurality of bars 29, eachcarrying a knob 30, and the knobs having alphabetical indicationsthereupon or any other suitable designating marks. Pivotally connectedas at 31 to the forward ends of the platforms 12 are the bars 32,andthese bars 32 are connected by means of the links 33 to the bars 29.When one of the knobs 30 has been pushed inwardly as better'shown inFig. 9, the bars 32 connected thereto will be depressed so as to assumea vertical position as better shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8. There, ofcourse, will "be as many knobs 30 as there are tablesadj acent to themain housing, and the platforms 12 may be so arranged that the trayswill be alternately caused to swing through the openings 4 at both sidesof the housing. When it is desired to cause the tray 34 to swing anddeposit the dishcarried thereby upon the receiving platform` 35, asillistrated in Fig. 1, the knob 30 designated by the letter A is pushedforward, but if theattendant within the kitchen desires this tray 34 todeposit its dishes upon the table 36, the knob 30 designated by theletter B will be pushed forward v likewise. From this it is obvious thatthere .-:may be as many knobs 30 as'there are tables along one side ofthe housing, and each table will be designated upon one of the f knobs30. When operating the knob 30 designated by the letter A, the tray mustbe actuated so that it` will deposit the dishes carried thereby upon areceiving platform 35. As the bar 32 connected to this knobis in avertical position, it will, during its course of travel through thehousing, strike the upper face of the shoe 37 which isarranged withinthe path of travel of this bar 32 and is adapted to actuate othermechanism which will release the bar 15 and cause the tray to swing uponits, pivoted support. This shoe 37 is connected by means of the links 38to a suitable support 39, and a leaf spring 40 normally holds this shoe37 in an elevated position as better illustrated in Fig. 2, but when thebar 32 rides upon this shoe 37 in the manner as illustrated in Fig. 3,the shoe, of course will be forced downwardly and forwardly. The camplate 22 is supported by means of a vertical bar 41 and this bar 41 isslidably mounted within a support 42. A coil spring 43 normally holdsthe bar 41 and the plate 22 in an elevated position as better shown inFig. 6. The support 42 has a vertical slot 43 formed therein throughwhich extends a rod 44 carried by the support 41 and'this rod 44 extendsbeneath the shoe 37. When this shoe 37 has been depressed, the support41 and plate 22 will be forcedl to move downwardly, whereby the camplate 22 will be brought within the path of travel of the arm 17, and asthe conveyer continues its travel, the tray will be caused to Aswingupon its support as has been previously described. The latch member 24is connected through a suitable rod and link connection 45, as shown, toa pawl 46, and the latter is pivotally supported upon the supportingblock 39. This pawl 46 is arranged at the forward end of the shoe 37,

and when the shoe 37 is actuated by the bar 32, it will move forward,thereby actuating the pawl 46 as illustrated in Fig. 3, so that therlatch member 24 will be released and the door 5 permitted to drop,thereby opening the' doorway and permitting the tray to passtherethrough. After the tray has delivered its dishes upon the receivingtable, it is desirable to close this door way and therefore the door 5has to be elevated. The

conveyer which is in continual motion will carry the bar 32 along untilit strikes the block 27 which is within the path of travel of the bar32, and this block 27 will, of course, be carried with the conveyeruntil it is permitted to drop within the inclined portion-47 of thetrack 28, where it will be beneath the lower end of the bar 32, so thatthe bleek 27 win 'be' released. when this .block 27 'has been moved tothis position, the

through the housing in an undisturbed'manner, and that by having a knob30 for each door way, the tray 'Will be caused to move at thepredetermined time and deposit the dishes upon the predetermined table.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that a customer seated at one of thetables 6 mayl give an order in `any suitable manner to lthe attendantwithin the kitchen of the restaurant. After the attendant has this ordergiven and the dishes prepared, they are placed upon one of the traysv16. The knob 30 representing the table at which the customer is seatedwill then be moved forward and the dishes carried on their way by theconveyer. As the tray containing the dishes approaches the platform toreceive the same, the door 5 adjacent that platform will be opened andthe tray swung within the door way, whereby the dishes will be depositedupon the bars 21. `Thetray is again returned to its normal position andtravels back to the kitchen. Likewise the.door 5 closes the openinglleadingto the occupied table. The customer may then take the dishesfrom the bars 5 and properly place them in front of himself upon thetable,-

thereby havin-g etlicient and mechanical restaurant service which willeliminate human attendants for the customer.

Having thus fully described my invent1on, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a restaurant service device the com! bination with la tray carrierand receiving platforms arranged adjacent thereto, means forautomatically moving said trays whereby theyl will be caused to travelthrough the receiving platforms and the dishes carried thereby caused toremain upon thel receiving platforms.

2. In a device ofthe character described the' combination with a dishtray carrier and a plurality of` receiving platforms for receiving thedishes carried byv said trays, means for automatically moving said trayswhereby they will be caused to be positioned upon said receivingplatforms, and meansl for releasing said trays whereby the dishes willbe deposited upon said tables.

3. In a device of the character described 'the combination with a dishtray carrier and jacent said platforms, means for automaticallyactuating said trays whereby they will deposit the dishes upon saidreceiving platforms, and means for automatically opening said doors,when said trays have been actu-l ated.

5. In a restaurant service device, thecombination with a kitchen, aplurality of trays for carrying dishes, and a dining room having tablestherein, of means for mechanically i conveying the trays and dishescarried thereby from the kitchen to the dining room, automaticallyremoving the dishes fromthe trays and depositing the same upon thetables, and means for mechanically returning the trays to the kitchen.

6. In a restaurant service device comprising a continuously travelingconveyer, dishcarrying trays supported thereby, and

-means for actuating said trays whereby the dishes will be removedtherefrom.

7. In a restaurant service device, the combination with a kitchen, traysfor carrying dishes, and a dining room having tables therein, of meansfor carrying said trays fromthe kitchen to said dining room, means formoving said trays toward the tableswithin the dining room, and means forcausing the dishes carried by the trays to be deposited upon thetables.4

8. The combination with a continuously traveling carrier,article-carrying trays secured thereto, means for laterally swingingsaid trays with respect to said carrier, and means for removing thearticles carried by the trays when they have been swung in their lateralpositions.-

9. In a restaurant service device, the combination with a tray carrierand receiving tables for the reception of the articles carried by thetrays. of said carrier, of means for automatically moving the trays fromthe carriers toward the tables whereby the articles carried by the trayswill be deposited upon the tables.

10. In a restaurant service device, the combination with dish trays anddining room tables having receiving platforms arranged adjacent thereto,of means for conveying said trays toward said tables, and means formoving said trays whereb the dishes carried thereby will be depositedupon .the rea plurality .of receiving tables, means arceiving platforms.

11. In a restaurant service device, the combination with dish trays anddining room tables, of means for conveying said trays, and means wherebyeach tray may be moved adjacent any predetermined. table for depositingthe dishes carried by the tray upon the table substantially as and inthe manner specified.

12. In a restaurant service device, the combination with a dish traycarrier and tables, of means for actuating said trays whereby thearticles carried thereby may. be deposited upon receivingplatforms nearthe tables, and means carried by said trays for causing the actuatingmeans t-o be brought into operation at apredetermined table, substspecified.

13. .In a restaurant service device, the combination with acarrier andtables for receiving the dishes, of dish trays secured to said carrier,means for causing the trays to move toward either side of the carrierfor depositing the dishes upon receiving platforms near the tables, andmeans for returning the trays'after the dishes have been removed.

14. In a restaurant service device, the combination with a conveyer anda plurality of receiving tables, of a plurality of artlclecarrying trayssecured to said conveyer, means for automatically operating said trayswhereby they will be caused to move to ward said tables and deposit thearticles thereupon, and automatic means for causing the trays to bereturned from the tables.

15. In a device of the character described, the combination with aplurality of dish-` carrying trays, a conveyer havingv the trayspermanently fixed thereto and adapted to move in one direction todeliver the trays, means for moving the trays in another direction, andmeans for removing the dishes from the trays after they have been movedin the last mentioned direction.

16. The combination with a dish tray carrier and a plurality ofdish-receiving platforms, of means for causing said trays to traveladjacent to said platforms, and means for automatically controlling' thetrays whereby each tray may be caused to deposit the dishes carriedthereby upon a predetermined platform.

17. I-n a device of the character described, the combination with a dishtray carrier and. a receiving platform, a partition arranged between thesaid platform `and carrier, a door-controlled opening arranged withinsaid partition, means for automatically mov-v ing said tray through saidopening adjacent said platform, after the door for said opening has beencompletely opened, and means for automatically closing said door aftersaid tray has been completely removed from said opening.'

antially as and for the purpose' 'adapted to move in another directionto re- 18. The combination with a dish tray and a platform for receivingthe dishes carried by vsaid tray, a p artition arranged between 'saidtray and said platform, a door-controlled opening arranged within saidypartition, means for automatically moving said tray through said openingwhereby the dishes may be deposited, upon .the platform, means foropening said door when the tray has been operated, means for withdrawingthe tray through said opening, and vmeans for automatically closing saiddoor after .said tray has been removed from said opening.

19. The combination with a carrier anda plurality of dish-receivingplatforms, of a plurality of dish trays secured to said carrier, meansarranged adjacent each platform whereby the trays will be caused todeposit dishes carried thereby upon the platforms, and means carried bysaid carrier for controlling each tray-actuating means at apredetermined time.

20. In a device of the character described, the combination with aconveyer and a lplurality of dish-receiving platforms, dish-cau ryingtrays secured to said conveyer, said conveyer adapted to move iii onedirection to deliver the trays, means for causing the trays to be swungto the opposite sides of the conveyer, means for causing the trays topass through said receiving platforms whereby the dishes carried therebymay be deposited thereupon, and said conveyer being turn said trays.

21. In a restaurant service device, the com bination with a conveyer anda plurality 0f receiving tables, of a platform secured to said conveyer,a tray pivotally mounted upon said platform, and means arranged adjacenteach table whereby said tray may be caused to move toward the tablessubstantiallylas and for the purpose specified.

22. In a restaurant service device, the combination with a conveyer anda plurality. of receiving tables, of a plurality of trays mounted uponsaid conveyer, said trays consisting of'a plurality of rods having theirouter ends open, and means arranged adjacent each table whereby saidtrays will be caused to move toward the table and pass therethroughsubstantiallyI4 as and for the purpose specified.

23. In a restaurant service device, the combination with a conveyer, aplurality of dish-carrying' trays permanently fixed to said conveyer, aplurality of receiving tables spaced from said conveyer, and means forcausing said trays to move toward said tables whereby the dishes may bedeposited thereupon.

24. In a restaurant service device, the combination with a conveyer, aplurality of dish-r carrying trays permanently ixed to said conveyerandnormally retained in one position, receiving tables spaced from saidconveyer, means for causing said trays to move toward said tableswhereby the dishes may be deposited thereupon, and means for returningthe trays to their normal positions substantially as and in the mannerspecified.

25. In a restaurant service device, the com; bination with a carrier,platforms permanently fixed to said carrier, dish-carrying trays movablysupported upon said platforms, a plurality of 'receiving tables, meansfor causing said trays to move toward said tables whereby the dishescarried by the trays will be desposited upon said tables, and means forreturning said trays to their normal positions upon said'platforms.

26. In a restaurant service device, the comform and deposit the articlescarried thereby.

upon said platform.

28. In a restaurant service device, the conii bination with a conveyer,platforms mounted thereupon, trays movably supported upon saidplatforms, a plurality of receiving tables, a partition arranged betweensaid receiving tables and conveyer, door-controlled openings arrangedwithin said partition, controlling means arranged adjacent said openingsfor opening and closing said doors, and means carried by each platformwhereby said controlling means may be operated and the trays caused topass through said openings whereby the dishes carried by said trays maybe deposited upon said tables substantiallyl as and for the purposespecified.'

29. In a restaurant service device, the combination with a travelingconveyer, a pluyrality of platforms permanently fixed upon saidconveyer, dish-carrying trays arranged upon said platforms, a pluralityof receiving tables, controlling means arranged adj acent each table,actuating means carried by said platforms and adapted to coperate withsaid controlling means whereby said trays will be caused to deposit thedishes carried thereby upon said tables substantially as and in themanner specified. j

80. In a restaurant service device,the combination with an endlessconveyer, receiving tables arranged adjacent said conveyer, platformspermanently fixed to said conveyer, an arm pivotally mounted upon eachplatform, a tray carried by each arm, means for retaining said arm inone position, and

means for swinging said arm whereby said tray will be caused to depositthe articles carried thereby upon said receiving tables substantially asand for the purpose speciiied.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

` JOSEPH HUTCHINsoN.

